Patrik Stollarz/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
DORTMUND, Germany — At first glance, it is easy to pinpoint the start of the Bundesliga’s love affair with young English players. The opening scene of a story that has swept a host of England’s brightest prospects out of the Premier League’s overstuffed academies and into top-flight German soccer is set at a specific time — the first few days of October 2016 — and in a specific place: Pula, Croatia.
That week, England’s under-17 team took part in the Croatian Cup, a youth invitational that also featured teams from Germany, Greece and the host nation.